RENO, Nev. -- Sophomore Armon Johnson scored 28 points and freshman Luke Babbitt 21 as Nevada opened a 23-point lead in the first half Saturday night, then held on to beat Utah State 84-71.
Johnson made 11-of-18 shots from the field and Babbitt hit 10-of-11 free throws while pulling down nine rebounds for the Wolf Pack, who are 17-11, 9-5 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Gary Wilkinson had a team-high 16 points and Tai Wesley 10 points and 10 rebounds for Utah State (26-4, 13-2), which has already clinched the WAC regular season title.
Nevada led 47-32 at the half and was ahead by as much as 41-18 thanks mostly to making six of its first shots from 3-point range -- two by Johnson and one each by Babbitt, senior Lyndale Burleson and junior Brandon Fields, who finished with 16 points.
The Aggies cut the lead to seven, 66-59 with 6:59 to play, but Nevada scored the next four points to secure the victory.
